


Gimme

by MissWonnykins



Series: Childish [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Adolescent Sexuality, Boys Kissing, Dawn the Wingman returns, Extremely Mild Sexual Experimentation, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, M/M, Surprise appearances, Time Alone Together, Time Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-15
Updated: 2015-05-15
Packaged: 2018-03-30 15:09:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3941428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissWonnykins/pseuds/MissWonnykins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scavenger Hunt Rules (by Dawn):</p>
<p>- Stay with your partner<br/>- Stay in bounds<br/>- Winner decides meals for a week<br/>- NO CHEATING!!!<br/>- I MEAN IT!!!!<br/>- Make an effort to play, you two, come on</p>
<p>As good a friend Dawn is, planning this whole thing and all, Ash is going to choose to ignore that last one...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gimme

**Author's Note:**

> Part 4 of the 'Childish' series.

"I'm sorry...!"  
   
Ash Ketchum had been hearing that a lot, recently. "It's okay." He was quick to say, just as he did every other time someone said they were sorry to him. Whether or not the other person would believe him was usually hit or miss.  
   
His friend, Dawn Berlitz, was such the party that time around. The look on her face told him plainly that she saw through his flimsy promises of being sincere. To be fair, she did look appropriately embarrassed, but none more so then the third person present. She stood with her hand clenched tightly around the door knob, only having a moment before flung the door wide open without knocking and thus revealing the twosome hiding away inside. In her defense, there was no way she could've known that both of them would be in there; it was a linen closet, after all.  
   
Heaving a sigh, the dark-haired boy resigned himself and slapped his cap back onto his head. "It's not your fault." He told the blue-haired girl, "Anyone else out there?"  
   
She shook her head, backing up as Ash stood up and peered out of the closet himself. When the coast was clear, he reached down and helped Gary Oak up from his seated position, ushering the other boy out in front of himself while Gary attempted and failed a third time to re-zip his jacket back up. Dawn did her best to hold back a laugh, but the choked giggle that came out was enough to add a whole other shade of red to the researcher's already very flushed face. "The closet, guys?"  
   
"I'm already living in one, technically, so yes 'the closet'." Gary snapped at her, finally managing to hook his zipper and yank it up to his chin. He was less willing to hide his bitterness over having been discovered, bordering on being rude, and Ash nudged him forcefully in the ribs. "Ow...!"  
   
Ash gave him a very pointed look before lightly tapping the closet door closed with his foot. "Calm down."  
   
The glare his former rival leveled in his direction would've set a lesser person on fire. "That's the fifth time _today_ \--!"  
   
Ash cut him off, glancing down the hall before grabbing one of the other boy's hands and giving it a light squeeze. "We'll live. Almost home."  
   
Gary didn't look convinced, and truthfully Ash couldn't blame him. He, too, was equally frustrated with the constant interruptions. They had trekked dutifully out of Hoenn into Johto, and had been taking up lodging in cabins along the way. They were too large a group by then to camp in the same place together, and cabins offered a bit more sanctuary. It had also been a couple weeks since the two former rivals had begun secretly seeing one another, though they had barely had any time to themselves. As much as Ash enjoyed seeing his friends once more, the large bunch of them constantly bursting in unannounced right in the middle of precious alone time was starting to fry his nerves...and that was saying something, considering the amount of times he'd been used as a human lightning rod in his life.  
   
It was a sheer feat short of divine intervention that kept his friends from suspecting anything less-than-savory was going on. He supposed that they were lucky: of all the folks who could've seen him cornering Gary Oak in a closet, it was Dawn. She - along with May Maple's younger brother, Max - were the only two out of a group of then six of his friends who knew what was going on between them both. If it had been someone else--  
   
"I really didn't mean it." His friend stammered, looking more apologetic then before. Her own cheeks were turning slightly pink, and she pushed her index fingers together. "I know you guys've been trying to do the whole...uh...'alone' thing for a couple days..." Dawn paused, and then slowly looked Gary up and down. "...What was your jacket doing unzipped...?"  
   
"Being unzipped." He ground out, pouting.  
   
Ash groaned, rubbing at his face tiredly. "Don't start fighting. Let's just try again later..."  
   
"For what?"  
   
"For getting my jacket _off_ next time." With that, Gary stormed off in a huff, leaving Ash to stare after him, unimpressed by his attitude.  
   
"I'm sorry, Dawn..." He began, once the boy had turned a corner to rejoin the others in the common area. "He doesn't mean it."  
   
The girl shrugged. "I know. It's fine. Did'ja at least get in some smootches?"  
   
He ignored her evil smirk, stretching and frowning as his back made several small cracking noises. The closet had been way too cramped for just one of them to hide in, let alone two of them for what could've been kissing. "No. Well...once. But just to get him in the closet." Dawn burst into a fit of giggles and he blinked in confusion. "What?"  
   
"Don't worry about it." She waved one hand at him. When she composed herself, her expression was a bit more serious. "Look...do you want some help?"  
   
It wasn't the first time Dawn had offered. The day before, she had asked them after Bonnie had nearly discovered them kissing in the bathroom. Their excuse had been that Gary had lost his necklace somewhere and the pair of them were looking for it, and Bonnie had somehow not noticed that the cord and its pendant in question were strung right around his neck. Dawn, of course, had called their bluff once the little girl was out of earshot and offered to help them. Ash hadn't been able to ask what that entailed, as Gary had responded with a firm 'no' that left Dawn awkwardly standing with them while Bonnie looked high and low for Gary's necklace.  
   
Now, however, with the girl not puttering around underfoot and Gary sulking elsewhere, Ash gave in and asked: "Help how...?"  
   
His friend clapped her hands, looking relieved. "Nothing stupid, I promise. Maybe a distraction. Y'know. Keep people from going looking for things. I'll get Max to help, and we'll keep everyone else confined for a bit so you and Sour-Plusle can make cute faces at each other." She explained, "Like a game, or a movie or something! Hm...but they might get up and go wandering...I could take them out of the cabin for a walk and you two can sneak off...no..." Dawn began to look slightly upset, her hands clenched near her collar bone. "People will notice..."  
   
Ash got the gist anyway and began to think it over while Dawn plotted aloud. If he could keep his six friends distracted somehow, it could buy him maybe an hour or so. That was a pitiful amount of time, considering how frustrated and upset Gary was over it, but it would have to be enough. They would have to make sure no one worried about either missing boy or went exploring too close to where they'd be hiding away, which seemed to be Dawn's main worry.  
   
"...What about a scavenger hunt?"  
   
Dawn stopped talking abruptly, completely stumped and puzzled by his suggestion. "Scavenger hunt?" She finally repeated.

Nodding, he nudged her further down the hall, away from the living room where the voices of his friends had become a bit quieter. "Right. We get a big list of things to find--"

"Pokemon?"

"Yeah! That's good!" He grinned, and Dawn returned it. "We get a big list of Pokemon for all of us to find, pair everyone up, and give them one place to look!"

"So that nobody wanders out of their area...! And if we pair up the two of you..." The boy merely smiled a bit wider, and the girl, in turn, clapped her hands excitedly. "That's perfect! Wow, so is Gary finally rubbing off on you?"

"What, y'mean other then his temper? Maybe."

Dawn managed to hold back more giggles, reaching out and patting his arm. "Okay. It's a good plan, and I think it'll work fine. You let me set up the places and the list and act like you had nothing to do with it, okay? No need to worry! I'll talk to Max, too, make sure he's on the same page."

"Yeah, please. Thanks, Dawn."

"Oh psssh..." The blue-haired girl waggled her hands at him. "You didn't need my help; YOU came up with the idea. Now go hang out in the living room. I have planning to do."

"Plotting, more like." Ash shot back at her, but accepted her hug before allowing himself to be scooted towards the other end of the hall. When he looked back, Dawn was shutting herself in the girls' room. Instead of being apprehensive about her involvement, he was relieved: Dawn generally knew how to plan things out and if anyone could have pulled off what they were attempting to do, it would be her.

He couldn't help but feel and act ecstatic as he finally joined his other friends in the common room. Nor could he help the secretive smirk he threw Gary's way. The researcher had given him a bewildered look in return from the floor, where he had settled to watch a movie with the others, and Ash had had to refrain from laughing out loud. After all, it wasn't every day he managed to come up with his own plans. Nothing could ruin his mood at that moment.

\--

Leaving things up to Dawn had ultimately paid off.

The rest of the day - despite the five interruptions - had gone rather well. Around dinner, just after the movie had finished and everyone was crowding into the kitchen, Dawn had reappeared with a notebook in hand and a triumphant gleam in her eyes. She waited until everyone was seated to clear her throat and announce to the table 'her' idea.

"You mean like Pokemon Spotting?" Max had asked, once she had gotten through her short speech.

The girl nodded, spearing part of a carrot with her fork and gesturing with it absently. "Sure. Thanks to Gary, we all have a pretty fair idea of what kind of Pokemon live in this area, so the list I made should range from 'common' to 'rare'." She passed the notebook to her left, into May's hands, and went on as the book was passed around. "We're not talking about finding legendary Pokemon, but there's going to be some challenging Pokemon to look for. And some of the places I picked out will be easier to find certain Pokemon but harder for others...so everyone's got an even chance of winning."

"But what _do_ we win?" Gary piped up, holding the notebook in one hand and frowning at the list of Pokemon they were expected to find. Dawn, to Ash's amusement, went a bit pink in her nose and cheeks. The notebook was passed to Gary's left. "I get that there's not much to do, but Pokemon Watching isn't really my thing." Ash could have kicked the other boy in the shins. The smart one of the two of them was supposed to be the auburn-haired boy; Ash wasn't sure how Gary hadn't caught onto what Dawn was doing...

Fortunately, Dawn had an answer for his question. "Glad you asked!" She managed to grind out with faked cheeriness. Only then did Gary perhaps realize that his observation might have been rude, and he ducked his head a little. "Glad. You. Asked. The winning team gets to decide what we're eating for the next week until we get to Kanto."

There was silence, though not due to disbelief over the odd prize. There had been a _lot_ of fights the past few days over just what everyone wanted to eat. With a group their size, it was hard to make something that everyone wanted to eat at one time. May and Max were used to more fish and seafood in their diet, but Gary balked at the idea of anything from the ocean on his plate. Dawn complained about not being able to eat salad; Bonnie and Max whined about the lack of snack food. Ash would eat anything except green peppers, which quite a few of the others loved (including Gary, and Ash had told him on more then one occasion to brush _his_ teeth before they kissed). It was starting to grate on their collective nerves. Having two of them decide on meals for the next week might not settle every dispute over food, but it would make things generally easier.

"What are the teams?" Clemont finally asked, picking at the carrots he wasn't extraordinarily fond of. Dawn beamed at him.

"Wanted to make sure to mix things up a little." Putting down her fork, she took back her notebook and gently pulled out several pages neatly along their perforated edges. "First, we'll have Max and Bonnie..."

Bonnie got the list, blinking. "Really...? It says we're supposed to go look out in the meadow."

"Right." Dawn nodded, "There's one just a little walk away from the cabin. It's right within earshot and eyesight of the rest of the places, so someone can check in on you guys. Next is May and Serena..."

May burst into happy giggles, bouncing up and down. "Great! I can't wait."

"We have the east side of the forest-- Isn't that were we saw that cute little pink Pokemon?" Her new partner, Serena, piped up.

"Hoppip, yeah! Oh gosh, they're so light and cute...have you seen what they evolve into yet? Skiploom and Jumpluff? They're on the list, too, you're gonna just _die_!~"

While the two girls gushed over the cute grass-type Pokemon, Dawn slid another list to Gary casually. "You and Ash'll be on a team. Don't go back to fighting with each other."

Ash thoroughly enjoyed the realization that spread over Gary's face after a moment or so. The researcher glanced up and stared at her in shock briefly before looking questioningly in Ash's direction. "Uh...all right..."

"You two'll be looking around the south side of the forest." The blue-haired girl explained, waggling a finger. "There's an even break between your side and the other two, so don't go wandering in our areas!"

"Th-that leaves...Uh...you and I?" Stammered Clemont, gingerly taking the last page from the girl's hands. "With the west end of the forest."

"Yep! So...I figure we don't have to rush anything. We'll go right after lunch tomorrow, like...one o'clock...and I'll give it, oh, I dunno...till five? That's enough time to find as many Pokemon as possible, and we'll be done just in time for our first supper dictated by our winners! Everybody okay with that?"

There was some murmuring around the table. Clemont and May expressed a little worry over their younger siblings wandering alone unsupervised. Bonnie and Max were equally adamant that they could handle themselves. Was four hours long enough? Some of them thought yes, others felt no. Gary was shooting suspicious looks at Ash when he had a moment, and Ash pretended to ignore them.

At last, though, the table of trainers seemed to all reach an agreement, and Ash was the one who ultimately nodded at Dawn and confirmed the plan.

"Let's do it."

\--

There had been no time for Ash to pull Gary aside and tell him what was going on ahead of time. They had all retired for the night after supper, and with Max and Clemont sleeping in the same room, there was no chance of speaking over them. Both of them awoke in the morning along with Max, and Ash finally decided that he would simply wait until later to let Gary in on the idea. There were other things to occupy their time before the hunt; Dawn insisted they all pack for the four hours that they would be split into pairs, and though this meant light packing it was done in the midst of preparing breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, and making sure the cabin was left tidy for when they returned later on that evening.

There wasn't any arguing over what lunch would be; everyone made their own sandwich and grabbed a piece of fruit, wolfing down the food. Clemont was still helping Bonnie clean her face of the mustard and apple juice when Dawn declared they would leave shortly. "Pair up!" She had called, picking up her bag from the counter and heading for the door. "We'll meet outside before we set off."

Bonnie and Max headed the charge outside. Ash had to laugh a little at them; Clemont's little sister and May's younger brother had had a turbulent friendship since meeting a few days before. The two alternated from bickering with one another to being thicker than thieves. Today, thankfully, the pair of them seemed happy to be teaming up against the six older children. Bonnie's Dedenne frequently switched hands between them, and it appeared the little orange Electric-Type would be helping them.

At the moment, both of the smaller children were discussing in low voices what they planned on doing, should they win. Max was set on getting a couple more junk foods in their meals, and Bonnie was in agreement so long as she could get her favorite cookies added to the menu. When Ash approached, Pikachu clinging to his shoulder, they both looked up at him and giggled. "We're so gonna win!" Max declared, puffing out his chest.

Ash, in turn, poked him lightly in it. "Don't get too ahead of yourself. I've got the Pokemon Researcher on my team, remember?"

Beside Max, Bonnie frowned and put her hands on her hips. "We're smaller, so we'll be able to get in little places easier then _you_ guys!" On her head, Dedenne gave a tiny, squeaky giggle before waving happily to Pikachu. The bigger rodent waved back, chirping what Ash assumed was a wish for good-luck. "Plus, you're gonna be distracted."

" _Bonnie!_ " Max immediately reddened, looking horrified and furious all at once. The blond girl blinked before covering her mouth, eyes widening. Her friend waggled his hands at a bewildered Ash. "I told her to keep quiet--!"

It hit him, then, what the little girl had meant. Heat crawled up his neck from his chest, and he frowned between them. Bonnie immediately shrank back slightly, digging the toe of her shoe into the dirt. "I won't tell." She murmured, looking up at him with her head still lowered. It was so ridiculously innocent and full of guilt that it was hard to even imagine being angry with her. "I sorta, _kinda_ got Max to tell me--"

"She forced me to tell!" Max blurted, and Bonnie's sweet expression melted away into pure fury.

"Did not!"

"You did _so_!"

Ash cleared his throat, causing both of the younger children to cringe and slowly look back to him. "I don't mind, Bonnie." He told her, quietly, and held a finger to his lips. "But shhh. Keep it to yourself, okay? It wasn't Max's business to tell anybody."

It was Max's turn to look guilty, and Bonnie frowned at him before crossing her arms. "I know...I'm sorry, Max."

"It's okay. But don't tell _anybody_." The boy pushed his glasses up his nose, leaning in towards Bonnie with a serious look on his face. "It's Ash and Gary's secret!"

"Right. And you're supposed to keep secrets for people, not just let them out whenever you wanna." Bonnie agreed.

Ash shook his head, reaching out and putting his hand on the top of Bonnie's head. "You got it. Now pipe down." He warned, just as the cabin door swung open again to release the others out into the yard. May and Serena were wearing matching outfits, arms linked and their voices bright and chipper. Behind them, Clemont and Gary talked in low voices before splitting off from the girls and heading to where Ash stood with the younger children. Bonnie looked like she was trying extra hard to contain her giggles when Gary nudged Ash's arm with his own harder then usual.

Her brother sank down into a crouch, then. "Now, Bonnie...I know we've gone over this already, but one more time." He told her, gently, and the girl groaned impatiently, "You stay right with Max, and you stay in the meadow, all right? Only use Dedenne if you're in trouble, and you call for us all if Dedenne isn't enough."

"I know, Clemont, I _know_!" Bonnie bemoaned, stamping one of her feet. "I'm not a little baby!"

"You aren't. I just...worry. That's all. Just like you worry about me, right?"

The blond girl thought about this, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." She straightened, then, and poked her brother in the nose harshly enough to jostle his glasses. "You better be careful, too, Clemont! Stay with Dawn and call if you need anybody, okay?!"

The gym leader chuckled, adjusting his glasses before hugging his sister. "I promise. Thank you, Bonnie."

Satisfied, the girl grabbed Max's hand and marched off further into the yard, where Dawn was waiting with Piplup at her feet. "I think they'll be okay." Ash offered his friend, and Clemont nodded as he stood back up.

"They will. May and I talked a little about it...they're little, but they should know what it's like to do things on their own. We're not going to be too far away, and Dedenne can handle most of the wild Pokemon out here if they get into trouble. I was out wandering when I was that age." He admitted.

"So were we." Gary piped up, nudging Ash once again. "A lot. Ash's mom used to get so upset when we'd come home."

Cringing at the memory of his mother's furious expression, Ash rubbed the back of his head. "I think that was mostly because we were dirty when we came back..."

Clemont laughed beside them. "You two really _do_ go back pretty far, huh? Just how far?"

The other two boys joined in his snickering. "Ah, jeeze, Clemont...I think I was three when I met Gary. Mom brought me up to the professor's house just to meet him. There wasn't a lot of kids in Pallet Town, when I was growin' up." Ash explained.

"Is it really that small?" The bespectacled boy asked, looking amused. "I can't imagine, growing up somewhere where there's only one other person my age."

"You make due as long as you can." Gary replied, haughtily. Ash shoved him in response.

Their conversation was cut short by Dawn, who then apparently deemed it an appropriate time to start. The three of them joined Max and the girls in a tight group, those of them who were given lists taking them out. "Okay!" The blue-haired girl exclaimed, clapping her hands together, "Now...it's two minutes until one. When I give the go-ahead, you'll have until five to find as many of the Pokemon on your lists as possible! Hopefully you brought something to cross them off with...and no cheating! We're operating on an honor system, but there better not be any funny business! I have ways of knowing if you cheated..." She warned, smirking deviously. "Five o'clock, come right back to this spot! Don't make the rest of us come looking for you." Ash blatantly ignored her brief glance in his direction, and instead agreed along with the rest of them to abide by her rules. Once she was satisfied, his friend gave the go-ahead, and each pair took off in separate directions.

"So..." Gary asked as they skirted the meadow that Bonnie and Max were plunging into with happy squeals, "What's _really_ going on?"

Ash only shook his head, grinning as they ran on. "Tell you in a minute. Save your breath."

The southern part of the forest around the cabin was more overgrown and wild. Footpaths had been worn into it from the west and east parts of the forest as well as through the meadow, but they were severely in need of being worn again. The trees were denser, thicker through their trunks, and as Ash and Gary ran and picked their way through the foliage it felt as though they were jumping feet first into some unknown world.

Just like when they were smaller.

Eventually, somehow in sync with one another, they stopped running and slowed to a walk. Ash stopped first, turning his head back to listen, and heard Gary pause as well. At first, there was nothing but the soft rustle of leaves in the occasional winter breeze. It took a bit of straining to hear his friends; Dawn was shrieking somewhere to their right, Max and Bonnie were still laughing and whooping in the meadow they'd left behind. He couldn't hear May or Serena, but that was all well and good for him.

When he turned back to his partner, Gary was still listening and was startled when Ash took his hand and began to walk once more.

"...You planned this with her, didn't you?" The researcher accused. When Ash nodded, Gary let out a breathy, exasperated laugh. "And it actually worked. I'm impressed."

"Course it worked." Ash mock-scowled at him, but neither of them could hold their expression long before they melted down into a snickering, conjoined mess.

Dawn hadn't approached Ash beforehand about just where he had wanted to be for the 'hunt', but he admired her foresight; the southern end of the forest, though overgrown, was easier to hide in. The large trees were tightly packed together in places, and Ash was doing his best to not give in and just push the other boy behind a group of them. If Gary was having similar thoughts, he was doing a good job of hiding them. For a few minutes they walked in comfortable silence, hands intertwined between them. At one point they released Umbreon and watched she and Ash's Pikachu run off ahead. The sounds of the two Pokemon playing in the underbrush mingled with the faint rustling of the rest of the forest, only broken by the faint cry of a wild Pokemon elsewhere or the loud shriek of one of their friends even further away.

"Four hours is a bit much, don't you think?" Gary finally spoke up. His voice had started in a hushed undertone before faltering and becoming room-level. They were so used to speaking in whispers when it was just the pair of them. They didn't have Ash's friends so close to being in earshot, however, and it was a little hard to adjust to.

In response, the dark-haired trainer squeezed Gary's fingers briefly. "'m still learning things." He explained, attempting to ignore that both of them were slowing once again in their pace. "I need time to get the hang of'em."

He heard Gary suck in a shaky breath beside him and fought down a smirk. Gary's face was probably reddening; Ash didn't have to look to know. And it was so _satisfying_ , to drain all of his former rival's bravado with a few words. _'Must be how you felt every time you came to wind me up'_ , he'd voiced aloud once, and Gary had made an infuriated noise and had hit him in the chest. Gary could act as calm and collected and intelligent as he wanted any other time, but it only took Ash saying _just_ the right thing to completely wipe the other's slate clean and leave him vulnerable and unsure...even if it _was_ brief.

They finally slowed to a stop not thirty seconds later. The sounds of the six of Ash's friends were all but faded into teeny, tiny noises in the background. Umbreon and Pikachu were cooing and chattering somewhere ahead. Ash was suddenly struck with the realization that he actually _had_ pulled this off (he would be thanking Dawn profusely later) as well as the fact that they likely wouldn't get another opportunity like it for a while. When that had sunk in he edged closer to Gary, who took another one of those quivering breaths.

"Why d'you do that?" He blurted, reaching up absently to remove his cap. The movement made him grimace: the band on the back of his hat rubbed too harshly on the healing wound under his hair. It still throbbed once in a great while; his friends had given up trying to get him to stop wearing his hat while the wound healed. It was slightly better when he slid it on backwards, then, the brim dipped low and past the edges of the scarring and the band comically perched just over top of his forehead.

"Do what?" Gary questioned in return and _oh_ , his face _was_ red. He didn't take his hand away from the researcher's yet, but his other moved up to Gary's shoulder. They faced each other, shyly.

Gary wasn't pretty. Ash had decided on that a long time ago. 'Pretty' still seemed to hold more feminine value to it then was appropriate to describe his partner. He was used to hearing people say that Gary was, but he would never use the word to describe him and was quite fine with that. That wasn't to say he wasn't appealing. Ash had never been poetic or even remotely romantic, so it was hard for him to put into exact words just what he liked and how to explain why that was.

Still, he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed just looking at his former rival...especially when Gary was as he was then. It caught up to him that Gary had answered his question with one of his own, and Ash opened his mouth to clarify before shaking his head. "Never mind." He heard himself murmur, leaning in, expecting to hear crashing through the greenery at any second. A friend wandering out of bounds, chasing some elusive Pokemon. Team Rocket, out to steal their wandering Pokemon. At that point, Mew itself could have come barreling into the back of his head and he wouldn't have been surprised.

The interruption never came, but he kept expecting it even when they finally kissed and Gary's hands stole over his shoulders. His own hands snaked around the other boy's back, flattening against his shoulder blades and pulling him closer.

"Loosen up." Gary finally growled between kisses, and when Ash opened his eyes he found the other boy scowling at him tiredly. "It's like kissing a brick wall."

Ash couldn't help but laugh, which at least made Gary stop glaring at him. "Never heard that one before." He said against the other's frowning lips.

"Congrats on the phrase getting coined after _you_." Gary dryly retorted, making an annoyed and startled noise when Ash took the moment to run the tip of his tongue over Gary's bottom lip. It made the auburn-haired boy shudder - Ash knew it would - and stammer out his next words. "We're alone, r-right? Relax."

"S'alot comin' from you." Ash couldn't help but point out, and kissed Gary again before the other boy could give him another of his unimpressed stares. He took the advice, however, and felt the tension melt out of his body with each eager kiss. All alone. No one there but their dutiful Pokemon (who Ash knew wouldn't bother them unless needed) and each other. He didn't even spare the Pokemon another thought when, upon finally coaxing Gary into opening his mouth, his partner moved his hands into Ash's hair and made a small keening noise.

Ash enjoyed how Gary looked, how he acted, but there was something deeply primitive in him that was enthralled by how he could _sound_ at times. His hat was dangerously close to falling off, and the tugging at the strands of his hair irritated the scabbing wound on the back of his head, but Gary made the sound _again_ and that was all Ash cared about. He wasn't even sure he was doing it right (they hadn't kissed like _that_ in some time), but was bolstered on by the reactions. One of his hands began to wander, and when it brushed over the shell of the researcher's ear and made him actually _whimper_ \--

Gary - for once, shockingly - didn't see fit to complain when he was pressed against one of the thick, moss covered trees only a couple feet away. Which was good because if he'd dared, Ash was sure he would have stormed off out of frustration. Briefly, Gary's voice telling him that he wouldn't be on his back all the time floated through his memory. Technically, he thought then as his hands fumbled with the zipper of Gary's jacket, their current position didn't count. He tore his mouth away from the other boy's, then, and kissed along his jaw. Gary's panted breath puffed along the side of his face, and then he breathed out a couple words that Ash didn't catch and didn't care about for a second or two.

"Huh?" He finally asked, lips dangerously close to Gary's ear.

Despite his then near-constant trembling, the other boy managed to reply: "My neck..."

Recognizing the direction for what it was and promising to come back to the ear later, Ash worked a line of soft kisses down the side of Gary's throat instead. It was new to him, but from the way Gary reacted to it, it wasn't for the other boy. Every little sound vibrated through the skin of Gary's neck, his pulse fluttering against Ash's mouth. Every inch he touched over was apparently sensitive. The vague idea of the other's previous partners - the mysterious male one, most importantly - having done the same thing made his blood start to boil. He'd gotten himself so worked up that when Gary begged softly to be bitten, Ash had growled before sinking his teeth in hard enough to bruise.

The yelp reverberated in his ears when it came, Gary's hands clutching his shoulders. If he hadn't had his jacket on, no doubt the researcher's nails would be biting into the skin there...pun intended. "OW! Ash--!" But he didn't let go right away, despite Gary's angry and pained protesting. He almost did, an apology straining at his lips, but didn't until one of Gary's hands grabbed onto the back of his head and yanked harshly on a fistful of hair. "That hurts-!"

As did the yanking on the hair covering what had, days before, been a very nasty gash. He waited until Gary wasn't yanking so hard to let go, running his tongue over the indents he'd left behind and causing the other boy's pained groan to taper off into...something else. Sure that Gary would no longer attempt to pull his hair out, his hands resumed roaming. They spidered underneath the separated halves of his black jacket, across the white hoodie underneath, pushing it off until Gary was finally forced to remove his arms from the other's neck. Taking it as a good sign, his fingers moved next to the hem of the second layer.

"Stop."

Ash froze immediately, pulling away from Gary's neck so that he could look at his face. A small, cold wave rolled through him and nearly sent him stumbling. There wasn't irritation there or anger at all. Gary looked perfectly fine. Fine, except for the fact that his eyes were wide with _fear_. The recognition of it must have shown on Ash's face, because the next thing that was visible was shame and Gary ducked his head as if to hide it all. The trainer jerked his hands away as if burned. Gary made a tiny noise in his throat and grabbed him by the front of his jacket, as if he thought Ash was going to run.

They didn't move for what seemed to Ash like hours but in reality was only a few seconds. Gary bit his lip, obviously wanted to say _something_ , to explain why he had clammed up and stopped enjoying things. Ash didn't make a move to retreat or continue: he knew it wouldn't end well if he did either.

Finally, with a small cough that almost sounded like a choke, the Pokemon researcher spoke up. "I can't." He managed to hiss out, and gripped Ash's jacket tighter, "Don't touch--put your--...just don't, okay? I can't..." His tone was so shaky and unnerved. Ash'd never heard Gary sound that way before.

And what Gary uttered next only served to put Ash on complete edge, even if it was just one word: "He..."

Ash had never met this other boy who had dated Gary. He wouldn't know him if they ever met on the street. There was still nothing he wanted more in that moment, however, then to beat him within an inch of his life. With a sigh that made him feel years older, the other's name within it, he wrapped Gary up in a hug and refused to let go. Gary didn't cry, for which Ash was thankful: he had never seen that and knew that it would be a devastating blow when he _did_ finally bare witness to it. He merely trembled, his own arms having encircled Ash and his face buried in Ash's shoulder. There were no tears...not that day.

"...Gonna be okay?" The trainer finally asked, softly. Gary nodded against his shoulder. It may have been stepping over boundaries neither of them was ready to cross, but Ash's next question came anyway: "What did he do?"

It was going to be like this so long as they were together; this mysterious ' _him_ ' hanging over Gary's shoulder. A couple weeks before, this third person had come up, and it had been evident that something had gone wrong. Now it was even more apparent.

The researcher shifted, turning his head so that his nose was pressed against Ash's neck. "I don't wanna talk about it right now." He mumbled, "I'm sorry. I should've said something before we started."

There was no point in disagreeing with that. "Do I need t' know anything else...?"

"...Just...let me guide your hands for now." Was the answer, "You shouldn't be trying to get _all_ of my clothes off, anyway."

It was meant as a joke, and it worked: the ominous feeling began to fade away. Ash even managed a small laugh, allowing his own forehead to fall onto Gary's shoulder. "Not all of'em?" He questioned, and felt Gary laugh as well. "I guess that's okay, since it's cold."

"Stupid." Gary mumbled in response. "Oh...one more thing?"

"Huh?" Which was all he got to say before Gary bit him in the side of his neck. He wasn't proud of the garbled hiss he made in response. His feet nearly tripped him up and his head swam briefly when the researcher abruptly turned them around; it was Ash with his shoulder blades digging into the bark of the tree, then.

"You aren't a Golbat." His former rival growled into his skin, "So don't bite like one. I _will_ bite you back." Ash almost argued with him, but the harsh pressure of the bite left him and was replaced by a long, slow stroke of tongue across what was surely then a bruise. "Why'd you do it so hard? You didn't really think I'd like that, did you?" Gary asked, his breath warming the wet and cooling skin.

Ash wasn't sure if he'd be able to answer, not with the return of the other's tongue on his neck, but he tried anyway. "Jealous." He managed, cutting off with a grunt as he was nipped.

"Jealous?" Gary snickered. "Of what? No one's here but you and me."

"You had it done to you before." Was all he managed to reply, hissing and groaning; Gary had put his lips to the bruise and was _sucking_ on it. It was the strangest feeling, right over his pulse, and Ash had trouble thinking straight. Was _that_ how that was supposed to be done?

All Gary offered in response was a 'hmm', muffled into the trainer's neck. His mouth worked its way up to Ash's jaw and Ash eagerly turned his head to catch a kiss. A pause for breath came quicker then he liked. "Maybe I'm just sensitive there." Gary mused aloud.

"You knew what you wanted." His fingers brushed over the bite-mark he'd left on Gary's neck, the teeth impressions still sunken slightly into the skin. Frustration he'd felt when he'd made that mark came back, lurking around the edges of his voice. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"You're _learning_." Gary corrected immediately, "It's not just going to magically appear in your head, you idiot." He must have either seen or felt Ash's reluctance to agree, because he continued on. "If I hadn't said anything, would you have tried?"

"Not _then_ \--"

"Right. But now you know. I'm not going to make fun of you for not knowing how this goes."

"Someone did that to you before." Ash accused, more harshly then he wanted to. Gary didn't reply right away, and he opened his eyes to find the other boy frowning at him in annoyance. That was a look Ash knew well. "What?"

The huff his partner made was brimming with irritation. "Why are you jealous? I'm having a hard time understanding, so what is it: of me having other people before _you_ , or those other people? I can settle BOTH of those things, so just tell me what it is. I'm not wasting four hours out here passive-aggressively arguing with you about it, so let's get it over with."

"I just--!" He reeled himself back in; distance or no, if they were too loud, his friends would come looking to see if they were all right. He swallowed lightly. "I don't want you to get...bored with me or anything. You already know how this stuff works-- somebody taught _you_ , and I guess...I guess I don't like thinking about that much."

"I don't, either." Gary bit out, and the chill in his voice made Ash stare. "Believe me. If I could forget who I learned it from--...Look, don't worry about it. If it mattered, I'd still be _with them_ , right?" Ash slowly nodded. "Right. I'm teaching you because I want it from _you_. I'm not exactly seeing anyone else."

"So you're not bored?"

Gary gave one small, breathy laugh. "Bored? With _you_? Even if we weren't dating I'd answer 'no'. You attract trouble like it's in your moveset."

The worry finally began to evaporate, and Ash let himself laugh, too. "Okay, that was pretty good."

"Pokemon poetry is Gramps' forte, but I'm pretty sure Pokemon jokes are more my thing."

"Blech, I hope not." His giggles subsided, hands resting along each side of Gary's jaw. "You're sure, though? I just...get the feeling you're looking for me to take control, but I can't really do it until you show me things."

"You're delusional about the control bit." Though Gary's eyes darting away betrayed _that_ declaration severely. "And what part of 'learning' do you not understand? I don't mind. Really. We'll get there. You're...you're not so bad at picking up on things."

A smirk slowly crawled across Ash's face. By the widening eyes on Gary's, it was apparent that his partner had seen it. "Oh yeah?" He challenged, fingers drifting downwards to bunch in the front of Gary's hoodie. The auburn-haired boy's entire body tensed up slightly, but it was far too late - or too little; Ash had found he overpowered Gary quite easily - to stop Ash from switching their positions again. Gary didn't look all that pleased to have been caught off-guard, squirming as Ash pressed him back further and prevented his escape. "So if I bit you again...?"

"I'd punch you." Gary warned. Ash ducked down to his neck anyway, and the older boy yelped, likely afraid of another bite. "Ash, don't, come on-nnngh..."

"Wassat?" The trainer asked, absently, pausing in sucking blood to the surface of the other's skin between the teethmarks. Gary, for once, didn't have an answer for him. Taking that as a victory, his tongue darted out briefly and Gary shuddered. One of his hands reached up, threading through the hair at the nape of Gary's neck. The noise the researcher made was almost _pitiful_ when he gave the strands a sharp tug, and Ash pulled himself away from Gary's neck to kiss his mouth instead as if he wanted to eat the sound itself.

Far off in the meadow, Bonnie's shriek of delight carried through the forest. A Spearow cawed from feet away, softly. Umbreon's purring was almost audible. There was a tiny rustle of a hat falling from a few feet up and landing upside down in the wild crab-grass and clover. Ash barely registered any of the sounds (or the fact that his hat had finally toppled off his head) except the ones Gary made, trying to brand them like hot irons into his brain so he could think on them once they rejoined the rest of the world. For the moment, they had their little corner of the universe, no matter how small it was. Nothing was there to stop them, nothing but the feeble sounds of things a world away from them.

\--

"We can still win, technically."

"Mm?"

"Well, for starters, you won't ever see a Swinub out here. Not that anyone else but Dawn probably knows that."

Ash snorted, careful not to do so into Gary's hair. The pair of them, three hours later and some distance from where they'd first stopped, were sitting on some rocks at a clearing Pikachu and Umbreon had found. The sun filtered through the open canopy there, warming the stones as a stream lapped by. The researcher lounged back against Ash's chest, the list held in his hands. Ash's hands were around Gary's chest, laced loosely together. The warm bulk of Umbreon was laying against his leg, Pikachu leaned up against her side. Both Pokemon appeared exhausted by their playtime and were dozing in the rays of sunlight. Smiling a little, Ash pressed his mouth and nose down into Gary's hair, grinning wider when the auburn-haired boy wriggled slightly. "So what you're saying is we could cheat and nobody would know." He mumbled, his voice's vibrations sending little shivers down Gary's neck.

The researcher lazily swatted back at him. "She would know, all right." He replied. "Because she knows what we were out here actually doing. We could fib a little, though. We don't have to say we saw all the ones that actually live out here."

"So if we win...no green peppers for a week sound okay?" Ash asked, slowly.

Gary made a whiny noise, leaning his head back so he could look up at Ash. "That's not fair. I like peppers."

"They're gross." Ash stuck out his tongue for good measure, snickering when Gary leaned up slightly to try and bite it. "Why can't you like chili peppers or banana peppers? Green peppers aren't even all that spicy, they're just...gross."

"I like having feeling in my tongue." Was Gary's simple response, complete with a shrug, and Ash laughed at him again.

"I like feeling your tongue."

Gary frowned, cheeks growing pink with embarrassment, and resettled with the back of his head against Ash's collarbone. "Well...good." Was all he apparently could say to that.

Deftly, Ash plucked the list from the other boy's fingers. Gary didn't protest, but held up a hand to keep Ash from brushing the paper against his face. "...So if we marked that we saw Hoppip but not Girafarig, we'd be good, right?"

"Very good." Gary agreed, "I know that Girafarig _do_ live around this area, but they're pretty rare to find. The chances of any of us finding one today is slim. Dawn said our lists are slightly different based on the section we were sent to search in, so that one probably won't even be on Max and Bonnie's."

"I knew I couldn't go wrong with having the Pokemon Researcher on my team." Ash teased, pressing his lips to the top of Gary's head.

"Mm. But I got you, friend to all Pokemon." Gary lazily gestured outwards with his arm in a sweeping motion. "So if we find one, I'm sure you can talk it down from attacking us."

"Why d'you say that?"

Gary hesitated, then, and Ash cupped the other boy's chin in one of his hands to tilt his head back. They peered at each other, and Gary finally grinned weakly. "That's what you do best. You just...have this way with Pokemon. Gramps loves it." He chuckled, although there was a hint of bitterness in it he couldn't quite hide. "Everyone I've met who knows you has stories to tell of you just...connecting with Pokemon...and people, come to think of it. You're just easy to get along with, and all the kind things you say and do...you mean them. That means a lot to everyone-- people and Pokemon alike."

"Gary..." Ash began, but faltered, overcome with embarrassment.

"Come on...take some credit where it's due." The other boy encouraged. Ash let his hand fall away, and Gary tilted his head back down to watch the forest around them. "How else do you explain Pikachu and you? Gramps and your mom told me that it hated you, at the beginning. Then you risked your life to save it. I don't know many trainers who wouldn't have just given up from day one after that sort of start. You didn't. You chose to go out of your way for a Pokemon that didn't like you at all, nearly got yourself killed."

"It wasn't _that_ bad." He stammered, and could have sworn he heard Pikachu snort beside him. The rodent was still sleeping when he looked, however (or pretending to be). He shook his head lightly. "I've been in worse scrapes."

"You mean like with Entei and Molly Hale?" Gary asked, slyly.

Ash gaped, blinking, and finally stared down at the top of Gary's head wordlessly. "How...how d'you know about _that_?" He managed to get out, but it hit him immediately afterwards. "Did mom tell you?"

"Bits of it." Gary admitted, finally sitting up completely and turning to face Ash. One of Ash's hands reached absently forward, linking their fingers together. The researcher looked down at them briefly with a small smile. "Bits." He repeated before straightening up, "The rest was live broadcasted." When Ash blanked, his partner smirked wryly. "Forgot all about that, huh? Oh yeah. It was a major news story for a couple days. I learned some of it from there, just enough to know you were involved and your mom was, and then I sat down one day while I was visiting home and asked her about it."

He thought of his mother, probably dropping by to visit Professor Oak and Tracey, sitting in the Oaks' kitchen while Gary asked her about the incident. How she might have blinked and then asked why Gary wanted to know about all _that_ nonsense. "What did she say?" He asked, absently, frowning down at their joined hands.

Gary scooted closer until he was nearly sitting in Ash's lap. "That you did go in to save her, yeah, but you also did what you could to _help_ them both...Molly and Entei. She also told me you nearly died _again_." He said, through smiling but gritted teeth, "And that your temperamental Charizard showed up to save you. That _Team Rocket_ , who didn't care last week that you were bleeding still from your head, pitched in to keep you from falling to your death. If that doesn't speak volumes to your character, I don't know what does."

Heat rose to Ash's face. The chill that signified colder days were coming still wound up around him, but couldn't dispel the sudden warmth he felt. "...I just...did what I needed to." He murmured, faintly, and Gary didn't laugh at him.

"I know. You think you need to do a lot of things." The other boy said, softly, his thumb gently running over Ash's own. "But they're mostly all _good_ things; _selfless_ things. Don't think that's the only story I know about you confronting legendary Pokemon, either. Your friends can get pretty talkative."

"Ah, sheesh..." Ash mumbled, frowning down at his feet. Gary's hand tightened on his own, and he blinked curiously first at it, then up at Gary's face. His partner looked grim. "...Gary?"

Gary hesitated, mouth open for a moment, before he leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to Ash's cheek. "...They keep telling me how close you kept coming to dying." He finally explained, "And it...scares me a little, I guess. I thought maybe I could handle things if they only got as bad as they did with Team Rocket, recently...but then May started talking about you nearly drowning, and Dawn talked about Giratina-- You _were_ sent by it to torture me." Ash chuckled weakly at that, "And that whole business with jumping off a building in Kalos...Ash, I..."

When Gary didn't go on, Ash glanced at his face and found there _was_ fright there. He felt guilty just seeing the little bit of it there was. "Hey," He rasped, nudging the other boy lightly with his free hand, "I don't mean to get involved in this stuff, y'know. It just sort of...happens."

This did nothing to help Gary, and Ash winced inwardly when he saw a little bit of panic enter Gary's eyes next. "So I don't know when something epic and potentially deadly's going to come in and whisk you away."

"No, no, Gary--" Ash pulled both his hands away, waving them a little. "I didn't mean to make it sound like...that. Not like _that_. Look..." He bit his lip, and then held out both of his hands palm side up. Gary took them gently, delicately, as if he were afraid Ash would break apart at any moment. "...I don't know what it is about me. This stuff's been happening for a long time...I first saw a legendary Pokemon my first day on the road. I didn't know what it was then, but I'm... _pretty_ sure it was Ho-Oh. It doesn't matter," He hurriedly said, seeing Gary's face go white with shock, "What does is...how do I...?...What matters is that...is that I'm important, I guess?"

He took a deep breath. It was a conversation he'd been dreading having with _anyone_ (and he would likely never have it with his mother); is friends had been present for many of his biggest adventures...but none of them had been there for _all_ of them, nor did any one friend know about every time Ash had very nearly lost his life. Brock, he vaguely thought, knew about most of them. He didn't think Gary had had a clue, up until that point, and it was apparent that he should have talked about it with him sooner.

Slowly, he began to talk the other boy through everything; from his first encounter with Mewtwo (that he had only remembered after his _second_ encounter with the Pokemon) to more recently in Kalos, where he had met with more legendaries then he'd ever seen in one point. Gary, for the most part, didn't act entirely put off or petrified. In fact, at points, he'd looked utterly excited and awed. He seemed to enjoy hearing about all the things Ash had done, all the things he'd been apart of and befriending the extraordinary people and Pokemon he had.

And when it was all said, Gary pulled him so forcefully into his arms that they both toppled over and lay sprawled over top of one another just scant inches from the freezing cold stream.

"You're amazing." Gary breathed, breathless both from the fall and from Ash's long tale. "You are. Absolutely. Amazing. I'm sorry I ever, _ever_ made fun of you. You should _punch_ me for the things I said! How do you walk around and not tell _anyone_ this stuff?!" He laughed aloud, and Ash was startled enough to laugh with him.

"I just don't."

"I could write a book about you!"

Ash cringed, then, trying to smile. "Please don't...some of that stuff's kind of...embarrassing."

"Like being kissed by a _Latias_? After you helped save an entire _city_ and brought back its water?" Gary asked, playfully shoving him.

"Latios did all that." He retorted, seriously, "He gave his life to do that, Gary, don't say it like that...this is why I don't want to put it out there to everyone." Gary's laughter tapered off, and he regarded Ash bemusedly. Ash sat up over top of him, scooting back so that the other boy could also sit up. "I know you didn't mean to say it like that...but everyone does, once they find out about some of this. And I'm...I'm not this superhero everyone thinks I am. I just help...these people...these Pokemon I met...they're the real heroes. Like Latios. He was already so hurt, Gary...he probably knew he was gonna...g--..." He cleared his throat. "...but he didn't tell anyone...not even Latias. He went out there to protect the city from that giant wall of water--"

"Tsunami." Gary supplied, absently.

Ash nodded slowly. "Yeah...and he...he p--...he did what he had to do, and that was how the Soul Dew came back to the city. I...I didn't do that. I could never take credit for that. And then with Mew and the Tree of Beginning and Lucario--" He choked a little, then. Lucario's death had never been easy for him to accept, no matter what the outcome had been. "Brock told me once...that it's easier for people to say _I'm_ the hero, because I'm the only one left over, but I hate it. I hate feeling like the people I'd tell would just...would just...rather forget about what they don't see. I _can't_ forget, I _won't_ forget. Latios...Lucario...there are more, too. They gave up everything for the whole world...for people and Pokemon they didn't know. I..."

He couldn't find it in him to talk, then, and did his best to focus on not shaking so badly. Gary's hands tightened around his own. "I wish...you could've seen...could've met some of'em..." Ash managed to say. " _They_ were amazing, Gary. Not me."

"Don't." The word came with a different tone then it had earlier. It was firm and stern, but tender. "Don't say that. Don't sit here and tell me you didn't do anything great when I just listened to you talk about how you did just that. You nearly died...how many times is that?"

"Lost count." Ash mournfully replied.

"Way too many, if you ask me." Gary added on, pulling Ash's hands up to his face. "...This is what _I_ was talking about. Selfless." He kissed the back of one gloved hand, and Ash grinned, "Kind." The back of the other was kissed, and Ash managed a small giggle. "You didn't know those Pokemon at all up until just before those events...but it still makes you sad, that they're gone. You still hold them in high regard for the brave things they did...and you helped them. And nearly every time...you were ready to give your life away. You don't see how that could, maybe, _possibly_ make you a hero...?"

"I'm just some unlucky kid with a weird name." Ash replied, and Gary did laugh, that time. Ash did, too, to be fair.

"I don't see how you count meeting so many Legendary Pokemon as _unlucky_ ," Gary quipped, "And I like your name, _Ashy-Boy_."

Ash groaned theatrically, flopping backwards and pulling his hands away from Gary's. "Oh, here we go again..." He sighed heavily, closing his eyes as Gary snickered. He peeked through one of them as the older boy crawled to sit beside him. "If you think about all the stuff that happened, it's pretty unlucky. I told my mom once that I wished she'd named me 'Bob' instead."

Gary wrinkled his nose up at the very idea. "I'm never calling you that." He warned.

The trainer laying on his back shrugged, grinning. "Point is...even though a lot of good things came from it all..." He trailed off briefly, watching a small group of Butterfree fly far overhead. "...Sometimes I wish it never happened to me. I saw a lot of things I'll never forget...And yeah, _felt_ a lot of stuff I'll never forget. Dying's...not fun." He cringed, and watched as Gary did so as well. "It's a lot. I guess I'm glad I got to meet them all, though."

"You guess?"

"Okay, okay, I _am_ glad I got to meet them all. It just...hurts sometimes." He paused, then felt his face flush heavily. Groaning, pulling his hat over his face, embarrassment overwhelmed him. "Sorry...I didn't mean to get so upset. I just don't talk much about it and-"

Fingers plucked at the backs of his hands, and eventually he was forced to push his hat back up for Gary to lean in and press a soft, lingering kiss to his lips. "I'm glad you talked about it." The researcher admitted, sitting up slightly. "That's a lot to have on your shoulders...just promise me you'll think things through next time. If we can prevent your near death from happening, then we should do it."

"You'd miss me, huh?"

Pikachu scoffed next to him, there was no doubt about that, and to add insult to injury he heard Umbreon give a long-suffering sigh right after. Gary glared down at him. "I can't tell if you're just playing stupid sometimes or if you actually _are_." The other Kanto-native said, and leaned down once more. This time, the kiss was hard and almost harsh. "Would I _miss_ you...you're an idiot."

Ash couldn't help his cheeky: "Well, if you kiss me like _that_ for saying it..."

He did get another kiss, though, so perhaps he was on to something, after all.

\--

The last hour of the hunt went by too quickly for Ash's liking. They spent the time lazing by their stream, conversing with each other about which Pokemon to cross off their list that wouldn't be suspicious to claim to have seen and watching Umbreon and Pikachu get a second wind for their games. There were no more feverish kisses, nor exploring hands, and Ash was fine with that. His lips were almost numb besides due to cold, and Gary had joked about them getting stuck together at the mouth if they went on. Still, they didn't stray far from one another's grasp. He felt...satisfied. They had gotten a lot of the pent up energy out of their systems and were now just content to just _be_.

When Gary announced they had ten minutes to return to the cabin, however, Ash was suddenly pained to know that their freedom with one another was at an end. They'd be back to sneaking small gestures and the occasional hug in moments, and that dampened his spirits. He also realized it was the longest he'd spoken with _anyone_ in a good long while about his deeper thoughts. He could do that with Gary...he didn't know if he could with anyone else. He was again, for the umpteenth time, reminded of how Gary must have felt when it came to telling others about the two of them.

Gary seemed to sense this. Before they left, he took Ash's hand and squeezed it tightly. "It's not forever." He murmured, their foreheads pressed together and their lips a hair's breadth away from each other. "We'll...we'll talk to them soon. I want to. I trust you. I'm just...not ready yet."

And Ash couldn't be angry at him for that, even if he wanted to be. Instead, he gave the other boy a small smile and a kiss to match. "Thank you."

Gary returned his grin, and kept his hand held tight in his own as they made their way back. The sounds of their friends had all faded away, likely having turned back moments before they had decided to. They skirted the meadow as they had hours before, Pikachu and Umbreon bounding ahead of them and scaring Pidgey into the air. It was when they had the cabin in sight, six familiar voices starting to fade in along with the sounds of the evening settling on Johto, that Gary stopped abruptly in his tracks. "Ash..." He began, but the words apparently got tangled up in his throat from the way he suddenly gulped. Ash waited for him to go on, but he didn't, and instead hurriedly kissed him on the mouth.

He got a few seconds to kiss back before the researcher pulled away reluctantly, his hand squeezing Ash's own tightly before falling away. Ash missed his touch immediately, and the look they shared was pained.

"Guys!"

Ash looked towards the sound while Gary looked away. Dawn was there, waving to them from around the corner of the cabin. Her hair looked a bit wilder then usual, her clothes only slightly rumpled. His friend looked like she'd taken a tumble in a particularly dirty clothes dryer, and Ash couldn't help but smile and wave back. "We're not late!" He called to her. She gestured silently to Gary; he was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking a bit lost. Ash waved her off, she shrugged, and the girl disappeared back behind the cabin. When the heel of her pink boot was gone, he reached up and put a hand on Gary's shoulder. "Hey...you gonna be okay?"

It was the same thing he'd said to Gary earlier on, upon accidentally stumbling onto the topic of his former boyfriend. The researcher finally looked up at him, something unreadable in his expression, and nodded. "Yeah...I'm just..."

"Gonna miss it? Me too." He replied, truthfully. The corner of Gary's mouth quirked up, and he took a step towards the cabin at last.

\--

To everyone's shock, they had all tied.

Dawn was absolutely livid. "But that's--! That's ridiculous!" She shrieked, looking from one list to the next with heightening hysteria. "How did we all TIE?!"

"We didn't see a whole lot of different species." Serena piped up. She was immaculate, somehow, as was May. Each of them was holding a newly-caught Hoppip. "Lots of the same ones, though. There was a pretty big swarm of Hoppip. They were so friendly~" She lifted the leafed head of her Pokemon close to her face, and the Grass-Type cooed happily and wiggled its tiny limbs.

Bonnie and Max only had the tired Dedenne to show for their efforts, and neither looked pleased. "You gave us a list of Pokemon that don't even _live_ on this _continent_." Max accused, and Dawn had the good grace to blush. "We only saw a few! And you gave us 'Dedenne'!" He pointed at the exhausted mouse, who squeaked softly.

"Ah, w-well--"

Gary cleared his throat, then, arching a brow. " _Swinub_ , Dawn?" He asked. "That's insulting to me."

The blue-haired girl blew out a sigh, holding up her hands. "Okay...look. Those were the ones to show if you were cheating and just putting check-marks in just to win. Um...I...I did more for Max and Bonnie because...well...the meadow has more Johto Pokemon then the forest for some reason." When the other teams remained nonplussed, she stamped one foot, narrowly missing Piplup's webbed ones. "Hey, at least _I_ did make myself win!"

"Too busy with something else." Bonnie whispered to Max, and both of them dissolved into giggles as Clemont attempted to melt into the ground. Ash and Gary exchanged surprised looks with Serena and May, and all four smirked towards Dawn and the unfortunate blond gym-leader.

Dawn stood her ground, even if her face reddened. "All...all right. So we tied. Fairly. I think..." Her eyes narrowed in Ash and Gary's direction, and the boys gave her the most innocent looks they could muster. "So...no one wins."

"Don't we _all_ win?" Bonnie asked, then, and all eyes turned to her. She didn't look embarrassed, though, and nodded. "Yeah! So we can take turns as teams deciding what to make. That's fair."

"Four of us'll get shorted a day." May pointed out.

"We volunteer." Ash piped up, and was relieved when Gary nodded. "We didn't have too many hard ones."

"I guess we do, too." Dawn added. Clemont smiled at her, and she blushed once more. "Giving Bonnie two turns doesn't sound terrible."

The two youngest children squealed in excitement, hugging one another as well as the unfortunate Dedenne. May pumped her fist. "Great! Seafood-a-go-go!"

Gary groaned beside Ash. "My stomach already doesn't like this idea."

The dark-haired boy nudged him gently. "We still get one day." He reminded the other boy, who nodded. "But no green peppers."

The look of disdain Gary gave him was enough to wither plants where they stood. " _Some_ green peppers."

"None."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"Gary!"

Shaking his head, Clemont went from watching the pair argue to the other two teams: May and Serena excitedly planning what was sounding like an expensive and elegant spread, Max and Bonnie merely naming all the sweets they could think of. "We get a day, too." He whispered to Dawn.

The blue-haired girl gave him another smile. He thought they were gorgeous. That _she_ was gorgeous; scuffs, scrapes and all. He would sit down with Ash, Gary, and Max and tell them that he was very much attracted to her, later (though Max would act like he was gagging the entire time). She took his hand shyly. "At this point, if you don't mind, I think we couldn't go wrong with take out." And he laughed, half because he agreed and half because just holding her hand made him feel ten feet taller.

"They're _disgusting_!"

" _YOU'RE_ disgusting!"

"Oh GOSH, shut up! You're such a child!"

The third voice entering the fray between Ash and Gary shocked them all, and all eight of them (give or take a few Pokemon) turned to look for the speaker. Ash's face split into a wide grin, and he brushed past Dawn and Clemont to greet the dark-skinned girl standing with her hands on her hips.

"Iris!" He exclaimed, and the others all blinked at one another in confusion. "What are you doing here?!"

"Apparently stepping in to babysit _you_." The girl retorted, prodding a finger into his chest before smiling just as wide as he was and flinging her arms around him. "Surprise!"

Ash was nearly lifted off the ground by the strong girl, laughing all the while. "I can't believe it! How'd you even find us?"

"Well, our Iris has a very good sense of direction, don't you remember?" A slender, green-haired boy came forward next, dressed to the nines despite the wilderness around them. Ash gave another happy cry and pounced on him next. Gary visibly bristled, and Dawn winced.

"Cilan! You guys--! You're here! How--?!"

Cilan raised his hands for peace. "We knew you couldn't stop in Unova--"

"And we weren't mad!" Iris interrupted.

"--but we did want to see you before the holidays. I...contacted your mother. Apparently you're having a bit of a gathering and she...well...she invited us as well."

Ash looked fit to burst. "...I'm gonna kiss her." He said, absently, causing several of his friends to laugh. He slung an arm over Iris and Cilan's shoulders each, leading them to the rest of the group. "I should've invited you guys, but I didn't know I was gonna have so many people to begin with. I'm sorry."

"Perfectly fine, no harm done! We're just happy that you're so glad to see us." The connoisseur replied, waving one of his hands.

"Glad? Heh..." Ash gave him a devious look, and Cilan suddenly looked nervous. "We were just talking about what to do for food until we got to Kanto..."

In Ash's defense, Cilan should have seen that coming.

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: Now with awesome artwork by Scribblekin (http://scribblekin.tumblr.com/)! I commissioned Scribble for the piece, so I hope you all enjoy it along with the story. Go check out their page!
> 
> And you were all worried that there'd be no new faces this time around. I admit it was a bit of a cop-out, but I did feel bad about leaving out Iris and Cilan initially.
> 
> No Moltres this time around, nor mentions of much Pikachu/Umbreon (Pikabree? Umbrechu?). Plenty of time for that in the fifth and final installment of this series. And speaking of such...
> 
> The fifth - and last - bit of this series will not be a one-shot. I'm not looking to have a huge fanfiction on my hands like I gave myself with 'Flying Shoes' (and good gracious is that one going to be a doozy when IT'S done), but do note that there will be more then one chapter for that story when it goes up.
> 
> I'm debating on doing several spin-offs to this series that focus on other relationships portrayed in it, namely:
> 
> \- Clemont/Dawn: I'm not sure what I was thinking when I first decided to make them a 'thing', but here we are. I'd like to do something with their point of view during 'Gimme', either leading up to the events there-in or otherwise.
> 
> \- Max & Bonnie: These two are probably hellions together. I'd like to do a friendship story about the two of them just clowning around.
> 
> \- May & Serena: I haven't done much with May and I've let Serena fall by the wayside (though not for long, as we're wrapping up THAT particular tidbit in the final part of the series), but I'd also like to do a little something wherein we see the pair of them bonding and becoming friends. There may be Dawn involved.
> 
> \- Pikachu/Umbreon: MMMMM. I'm not usually a big actual!Pokemon shipper, but lemme tell ya, over the years this has been one of the cutest things. It'd be...different, writing from their points of view, but I'm sure they have a little back-story in them regarding their relationship. I'm not sure on this one, because it's featured as a sub-plot in the fifth 'Childish'.
> 
> \- I've been toying around with, once the series is done, going back and perhaps forking over the story behind Gary's previous relationship and why that went so far south. 
> 
> Keep in mind that if you don't see it listed above, it's probably going to get wrapped up in part five. Moltres's storyline, the ongoing anxiety over telling families and friends and other things ARE going to conclude.
> 
> Oh, and, y'know, you'll get to see Misty, Brock, Tracey, the Professor, and lovely Mrs. Ketchum.
> 
> Stay tuned, and thanks for sticking around so long!~


End file.
